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Rocky Balboa
: "You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward." : ―Rocky Balboa to Rocky Balboa, Jr. in Rocky V : Robert "Rockey" Balboa, Sr. (b. July 6, 1946) is the main protagonist of the Rocky movies and the deuteragonist of the Creed movies. Rockey is an Italian-American retired heavyweight boxer and former Two-Time Heavyweight Champion. He is famous for his indomitable spirit, extreme tenacity and ferocious body attack. He is the husband of Adrian Pennino and father to Robert Balboa, Jr.. After fighting Apollo Creed two times, both a lose and win, Rocky became a huge superstar, defending his titles many times, also fighting Clubber Lang, Ivan Drago and Tommy Gunn. Rocky later met Apollo Creed's son: Adonis Creed, who traveled to hope he would get Rocky to train him. Rocky Balboa is portrayed by Sylvester Stallone. Biography Early Life Robert Balboa was born in July 6, 1948 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. There aren't much other details about Rocky's life but it is known that he was born into a poor family. At some point, Rocky began training in Mighty Mick's Gym. Rocky On November 25, 1975, Rocky Balboa is introduced as a small-time boxer and "leg-breaker," or debt collector, for an apparently "connected" loan shark named Anthony Gazzo. He lives in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. Rocky is first seen defeating the boxer Spider Rico in the second round, but is considered by the audience to be a bum. ''The World Heavyweight Championship bout, with undefeated heavyweight champion Apollo Creed defending against Mac Lee Green, is scheduled to take place at the Philadelphia Spectrum on New Year's Day 1976, the year of the United States Bicentennial. When Green drops out because of an injured hand, Creed and his entourage, and trainer (Tony "Duke" Evers) are stymied on what to do. Other contenders say there is not enough time to get into shape. Creed comes up with the idea of giving a local underdog a shot at the title and, because he likes Rocky's nickname "The Italian Stallion," he selects the relatively unknown fighter. He puts it in lights by proclaiming "Apollo Creed Meets The Italian Stallion." The fight promoter Miles Jergens says the decision is "very American"; but Creed says, rather, that it is "very smart." To prepare for the fight Rocky trains with a 1920s-era ex-bantamweight fighter and gym owner, Mickey Goldmill. Mickey always considered Rocky's potential to be better than his effort—telling him he had heart but also calling him a "tomato" and "leg breaker for some cheap second-rate loan shark" among other endearments, and putting Rocky out of his gym locker preceding the "freak luck" opportunity that comes Rocky's way, and Rocky is initially skeptical of Mickey's motives and timing for wanting to train Rocky for the big fight. Rocky's good friend Paulie Pennino, a meat-packing-plant worker, lets him practice his punches on the carcasses hanging in the freezers. Rocky courts and eventually dates Paulie's shy, quiet sister, Adrian Pennino, who works as a clerk in a local pet store. He draws Adrian out of her shell and, as Rocky's girlfriend, she begins to gain in confidence. Paulie, however, is jealous of the relationship. The night before the fight, Rocky privately tours the Spectrum and notices the photograph of him wearing the wrong coloured shorts. Mr. Jergens tells Rocky the incorrect photograph doesn't really matter. Dejected, Rocky confides to Adrian that he does not expect to beat Creed and that all he wants is to go the distance because no one had ever gone the distance with Creed. On New Year's Day, the climactic boxing match begins. Apollo Creed has never taken the fight seriously, and Rocky unexpectedly knocks him down in the first round (the first time Creed has been knocked down in his professional career), embarrassing Creed, and the match turns intense. Creed's prediction that he would knockout Rocky in three rounds is quickly erased as the two fighters engage in a brutal match. Creed realises that he has underestimated his opponent and desperately defends his title. The fight indeed lasts 15 rounds, with both fighters sustaining many injuries; Rocky suffers his first broken nose and debilitating trauma around the eye, and Creed sustains brutal blows to his ribs with substantial internal bleeding. As the match progresses, Creed's superior skill is countered by Rocky's apparently unlimited ability to absorb punishment, and his dogged refusal to be knocked out. As the final round bell sounds, with both fighters locked in each others arms, an exhausted Creed vows "Ain't gonna be no re-match," to which an equally spent Rocky replies, "Don't want one." After the fight, multiple layers of drama are played out: sportscasters and audience are going wild; the promoter/ring announcer Miles Jergens announces over the loudspeaker that the match was "the greatest exhibition of guts and stamina in the history of the ring"; Rocky calls out repeatedly for Adrian, who runs down and comes into the ring as Paulie distracts the security personnel. As Jergens declares Apollo Creed the winner by virtue of a split decision (8:7, 7:8, 9:6), Adrian and Rocky embrace while they profess their love to one another, not caring about the result of the fight. After that fight, Rocky Balboa became a national celebrity and endorsements poured in for him. Rocky II Following the fight at the end of ''Rocky, in which Apollo Creed has successfully defended his heavyweight title in a split decision, he and Rocky are taken to the same hospital for treatment of their injuries. Apollo challenges Rocky to a rematch in front of the press, but Rocky declines and announces his retirement. Rocky became a national celebrity and a worldwide hero going the distance against Creed. He was offered a lot of endorsements offers after that fight. His girlfriend Adrian supports this choice, as do his doctors, who reveal he will require surgery for a detached retina, which could lead to permanent blindness. After Rocky is discharged from the hospital, he begins to enjoy the benefits of his life's changes resulting from the match: Rocky's new fame attracts him an agent who sees Rocky as a potential endorsement and sponsorship goldmine and his sudden wealth encourages him to propose to Adrian. She happily accepts and they marry in a small ceremony. Soon after, Rocky and Adrian happily learn that Adrian is pregnant with their first child. His first commercial beast after shave commercial was terrible, he care barely read the lines. He quit after that. He couldn't find any other job, since he never graduated high school and they offered him a manual labor job. But Paulie his brother in law gave him his old job in Shamrock Meat. Rocky needed the money and he took it. Rocky loved that job, but he got fired because they were cutting back. He went to Mickey and ask him to train him. He is considering accepting a rematch against Creed. He went the distance last time, maybe this time he will go for the win. But Mickey was against it, tested him that he doesn't have the tools like he used to. Rocky asked him for a job in his gym, Mickey accepted it. Meanwhile, fuelled by hate mail he has started to receive by the outraged fans, who claim that he was defeated and that the judges were voting in his favour, Apollo becomes obsessed with the idea that a rematch is the only way to prove that Rocky's performance was simply a fluke. Determined to rectify his boxing career's only blemish, Apollo ignores all pleas by his friends and family to forget the fight and move on to other potential opponents, and instead, demands his team do whatever necessary to goad Rocky out of retirement and into a rematch with him. Rocky at first seems unaffected by Apollo's smear campaign, but his inexperience with money causes him to run into financial problems. After largely unsuccessful attempts to find employment, Rocky visits Mickey Goldmill his trainer and manager, at his gym to talk about the possibility of returning to the ring. At first, Mickey refuses, worried about Rocky's health, but changes his mind after Apollo publicly insults Rocky on television. Adrian confronts Rocky about the danger of returning to fighting and reminds him of the risk to his eyesight. Rocky argues he knows nothing else so this is the only way he can provide. Adrian, angry at Rocky for breaking his promise, refuses to support him. Rocky and Mickey begin training, but it soon becomes apparent Rocky is not focused on the job at hand due to Adrian's disapproval. Adrian's brother, Paulie confronts his sister about not supporting her husband, but she faints during the confrontation and is rushed to the hospital where she goes into labor. Despite being premature, the baby is healthy but Adrian falls into a coma. Rocky blames himself for what has happened and refuses to leave Adrian's bedside until she wakes up, and will not go to see his new baby until they can see it together. When Adrian comes out of her coma, she finds Rocky by her bedside and the couple are shown their new baby, a boy, which they name Robert "Rocky" jr. Adrian gives her blessing to the rematch which enables Rocky to refocus on his training and he quickly gets into shape for the fight. The night of the fight arrives and Apollo has made a public goal of beating Rocky in no more than two rounds to prove the first fight going the full 15 rounds was a fluke. Rocky, fighting right-handed to protect his eye instead of his natural southpaw, is not able to mount much of an offensive effort through the first two rounds but manages to survive them disproving Apollo's theory that the first fight's result was a fluke. As before, the fight once again reaches the 15th round, by which point Apollo has built a lead on points that Rocky cannot possibly beat. However, Apollo's obsession with knocking Rocky out (against the advice of his corner men) leads him to trade blows with Rocky despite his lead. Rocky III Rocky IV The Five Years Between Rocky IV and Rocky V Rocky V Rocky Balboa Creed Creed II Death Before Creed III Creed III Personality and Trait Boxing Style Notable Quotes Rocky Rocky II Rocky III Rocky IV Rocky V Rocky Balboa Creed Creed II Creed III Skills and Attribute Attires Fights Before the Movies (1966-1975) During the Movies Rocky (1975-1976) Rocky II (1976) Rocky III (1976-1984) Rocky IV (1985-1986) Rocky V (1990) Rocky Balboa (2006 Trivia